Kitty anxiety issues.

[Lotusii]

I've noticed a problem in my little boy Odin recently. Normally there's always someone at home so it's probably why I never really noticed this. Whenever I go out and no one is home with him, he pees on the floor directly outside of the box. Also, he's started meowing at the top of his lungs, pawing at the door and peeing outside the box if I leave him by himself for a while in the bedroom, like when I put him away when I'm cooking so he doesn't get in the way. He's always complained when I do this, but never this much or this badly. Odin has been a little momma's boy his whole life, but he seems to becoming increasingly worried, as though I'm going to abandon him if he can't see me or at the very least have someone with him at all times. I have no intention of getting rid of him, that's completely out of the question, he's my little cuddle kitty. He had a vet checkup recently (the first of the month) and he had a clean bill of health. I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do to comfort him when I'm not going to be around.

I'm going to be starting culinary school soon and I can't guarantee someone will always be home to keep him in check. My brother and roommate may plan stuff and I rather dislike coming home to my bathroom smelling like cat urine. Odin and his sister are my first cats so I really don't know how to go about teaching him that I'm not going to leave and abandon him forever just because I want to cook or need to go to the store. I got him from a breeder when he was a kitten and he's had no other owners so I'm not entirely sure where his worries stem from.

Here's a picture of the little guy at play.

[Serendipity82]

Even though this seems to be when he is separated from you, I would still take him to the vet. There could be an underlying health issue that is causing his anxiety. If you can't find anything physically wrong with him, maybe he just needs another kitty friend?

[Silivren]

Even though this seems to be when he is separated from you, I would still take him to the vet. There could be an underlying health issue that is causing his anxiety. If you can't find anything physically wrong with him, maybe he just needs another kitty friend?

I think she mentioned that he has a sister. My cat does this from time to time but hers is pass and go however.. http://www.cat-health-guide.org/catanxiety.html - This website should help but it does recommend getting your cat vet checked just in case like Seren said. If nothing is wrong, you may have to medicate him, thats not terribly bad. I give my dog anxiety pills that are vet prescribed because shes so terrified of being left alone.

[Lotusii]

I did take him to the vet on the first and mentioned it to her and she told me there isn't anything physically wrong with him. Which is why I was asking if there was anything anyone knew of that might help him. The only really recent change is that my brother is living with us for a little while but he's someone Odin has known since he was a kitten. He has his little sister for company so he isn't actually ALL alone, he just seems to become distressed when he has no humans around him.

[GormanGhaste]

If you have two cats, you might want to try two litter boxes.

[Azunara]

What Gorman said is correct. It looks like Odin is bengally, or at least he looks a lot like our kitty coat wise. Essentially, when you have two cats, (or even just one cat) it helps to get two litter boxes. Our kitty peed everywhere until we got her two--we suspect it was because she felt anxious in one spot, so having two made her feel better.

I know our kitty gets very upset if she's lonely. She has serious issues with closed doors. Someone may be in the other room, but if a door is closed and she can't be let in, she sits and scratches and cries. There's nothing wrong with her--she gets upset. It's a bengal thing, from what my parents have said. They just tend to get lonely very easily and cry a lot. They're extremely sociable animals.

Edit: Or at least that's what I know. I can't make any promises on complete accuracy, it's just from experience and prior word from parents.

[Sesamee]

I second the two litter boxes. You need one per cat or one per floor of your home, whichever is greater. And you also need to make sure to keep an immaculate litter box. My cats will refuse to use it if I scoop it less than once per day.

As to the anxiety issue you need to slowly condition your cat to being OK being alone or shut up in a room. I accidentally shut one of my cats in my room before I left for work and I came home to the molding ripped off from around the door and the carpeting underneath the door completely shredded. Now this was from a 25 lb Savannah but still! If I planned to leave him in a room on purpose I'd have to desensitize him to it rather than just throw him in there and leave like I did...on accident lol!

This article has some good ideas on how to desensitize your cat to being left alone. Good luck!
http://cats.about.com/od/stressanxietyi ... incats.htm

[Lotusii]

I have three boxes total in my apartment. One for each cat and an extra. If I close him up in my room he has access to two. I clean every box at least once a day and change the litter and clean the box completely if I see that it's gross and scooping is not enough. I'll take a look at the articles and hope something will keep him cam because other than the separation problems, he really is a sweet little guy.

Edit: I don't mean to sound rude or ungrateful, I just want him to always be the fun, cuddly, happy little guy he is when people are around. Maybe I spoiled him too much because he almost died when he was a kitten. There was tainted pet food going around at the time and thankfully I caught the news report and had already taken him to the vet when he started acting strangely. I spoiled and doted on him because I was so worried at the time he might not be okay when I woke up in the morning. I honestly don't mean to sound rude.

[Sesamee]

I forgot to mention this product I used when I brought a new kitten into the house. A stressful time for all cats involved! http://www.naturalpetwarehouse.com/Comf ... s-Diffuser There was a noticeable difference with this product.

I use the canine version on my dogs as well. My 14 yr old has an anxiety issue with other dogs and while there is no sub for training and seeking the proper professional help I notice a big difference in her behavior when I spreay it on a bandanna and tie it around her neck before a walk. It also helped my male when as a puppy he started showing signs of being afraid of men. It helped make the training and socialization a lot easier.

Some pets show no reaction to the pheromones but mine did. Maybe it might work on yours?

[Lotusii]

I think I used that for a while when I lived in New York. I completely forgot about that product. I remember he would spray the stairs whenever my dad came around because for some reason he seemed to find my father very...I'm not sure how to phrase this... Unsettling? Intimidating? Something like that. Eventually they did get along so maybe it will work for this. Also, edited my previous post because I thought about how it sounded.

[Lotusii]

I got the diffuser and it seems to have helped him. It didn't seem like it at first but he seems to have mellowed out a bit. He still complains when I leave him alone, but he stopped going outside the box. Here's a picture of the little bugger sleeping. I'm sure he's happy now that he's calmer.